Welcome to Fairy Tail Online Chatrooms
by Maiokoe
Summary: She always wondered what the people on the other side of the screen would be like. Starting at Magnolia High even allowed her to meet some of them, which was exciting! Now if only Cobra would reveal himself so she could decide once and for all if they were actually friends are not. Modern AU


A/N: Fairy Tail does not belong to me in any way, shape, or form. Thank you~

This was originally for CoLu week 2016: day 3 online. Obviously,Ii missed that and it's just been in my files for so long, so, I wrapped it up for you all. Happy Thanksgiving I guess?

* * *

She breezed past the man holding open the front door, the woman dusting off the little table three feet away, another woman wiping at the window with a rag. She kept her eyes focused straight ahead, half hooded as if she was bored. She heard the slight heel of her shoes click against the polished wood floors, echoing flatly in the otherwise silent house.

All three stories to herself. Six days a week. 51 weeks a year. For the past seven years.

"Welcome home, Miss."

"Thank you." She gave the slightest nod to the woman at the end of the hall, her form straight and head bowed.

"How was your day, Miss?"

"Fine. Thank you for your work," Lucy answered back quietly. The woman glanced up and the blonde saw a sad smile on her lips. "Anything I should know?"

"No, Miss. Dinner will be ready at six." The woman dropped her gaze once again and Lucy slipped past her, clicking up the grand stairs to her room.

Down the silent hall filled with small display tables and parlor couches, vases of flowers quietly dropping their petals on the smooth wood and metal. Paintings and mirrors watching her as she walked, windows glinting with the golden afternoon light, the perfectly manicured gardens and yard below her a beautiful picture. Then, finally, a single door, white, pristine.

A small, cursive, pale pink 'L' was the only thing showing this one was different than the other bedrooms at the other end of the hall.

Even with five other bedrooms, hers was the only one isolated in this portion of the hall. Even if she had siblings, she'd still be alone.

Slipping through the door and closing it behind her, she kicked off her shoes, letting her bag drop by the side table with a loud thud—not that anyone would hear it. She glanced across the room toward her bedside table, the simple clock showing it was 3:04. She could only smile at the punctuality of her driver. Picked up at 2:45 on the dot every day, she made it home exactly fifteen minutes later.

Sometimes she wished she could ride the bus with her friends. Every day, it was a new story, a new adventure as Natsu and Gray, neighbors, got into some argument or another. And Erza, living a street up from them, would reign holy terror down on them if they tried to get physical—they would save it after she got off. Wendy, the cute little freshman, also Natsu's cousin and living next to Erza, would try to solve the problems peacefully but her voice could never be heard over their loud arguing.

She didn't live anywhere near them, the total opposite direction even, but she wondered if she would understand their jokes and references a little more if she rode the bus with them, sitting in on these moments. She was a junior, but this was her first official school that _wasn't_ some private all-girl's academy. She loved Magnolia High, she really did, but she just wished she could be more normal. More like her friends.

She flopped on her bed, pulling her lapdesk—a pretty pink striped top and magenta pillow that she bought with her own money at the mall—and clicking her laptop on, forgoing the power cable for now. She let it lay on her legs as she leaned back, staring up at the ceiling and waiting for the faint chime that would tell her her desktop was now up and she was free to dive onto the internet.

Her friends would be on within the next ten minutes, give or take. Some of the online friends she'd made were more of a toss-up: Flare was across the country, but her school let out at the same time; Sherry was down near Hargeon and she wouldn't be on until her softball practice was over (incidentally, Chelia, her cousin and Wendy's best friend, would be on around the same time); and Yukino wouldn't be on today, since it was Tuesday.

She wondered who would be on Fairy Tail. That would open a lot more possibilities, but she wasn't sure if she was mentally prepared for Juvia's Gray-inspired harassment today.

The faint chime brought her eyes back to the screen. She hummed, sitting up and scooting back to lean against her pillows and headboard. "Fairy Tail," she murmured, raising one hand, palm up. "Skype," she raised her other hand, palm up as well. She weighed the two options, lips pursed and brow furrowed.

On the one hand, she'd have to wait for the bus to finish its rounds and her friends to get on. Assuming they didn't have something to distract them. On the other hand, Fairy Tail meant her other friends that may or may not be on.

In all honestly, there was a higher percent of success for Fairy Tail.

A single nod and she dropped her hands, moving the mouse to the little Chrome icon and waiting for that to load, wiggling her phone out of her pocket and sending a mass text to her bus-friends that she'd be on FT to see who else was on. Erza was prompt, a clean, clear, precise message indicating she understood. And Wendy, who was sitting across the aisle, was also aware. It took a few moments, but she got a 'k' in addition to some other random letters from Natsu (no doubt a mistake in his typing but too lazy to fix it or care) and then a 'pls god no' from Gray, no doubt already envisioning Juvia's poetic chatter.

Fairy Tail was a chat room, nothing too big or fancy. Actually, Erza was an admin, hence how they all found out about it. It began only a few years ago, when Mirajane got fed up with other forums she was a part of and decided "what the hell, I'll make my own." It wasn't _quite_ that easy, but Laxus' friend Freed is good with coding and they helped her start one up. It was a pain at first, given Mira's preference for pinks and pastels and cute baby animals, but Erza caught wind and joined up to assist, much to the relief of the few on it.

Fast forward three years, and it was open to everyone—there were standards and rules, obviously, and both Erza and Mira were quick to absolutely _destroy_ anyone breaking those rules.

It started as something just for their group of friends, a massive Skype if you will, then shifted to something for the area, then the city, but then friends were made in other schools, other cities, other countries—you get the idea.

 _Welcome to Fairy Tail! Please Sign-In!_

Lucy's information was saved and all she had to do was click Enter. She realized this wasn't smart, given all the stories she's heard about people hacking laptops and ruining lives, but she was too lazy to retype and try to remember which password she used.

 _Welcome back,_ _ **CelestialMage!**_ _Please pick a chat!_

It was a simple set up. For each major city, there was a Guild. Magnolia had Fairy Tail, since it wasn't set up way back when for the huge outpouring of others. Clover Town had Blue Pegasus (Lucy refused to enter that chat, given the flirts popular in there), Oak Town had Phantom Lord(Mira and Erza had multiple talks about disbanding that section and renaming it, but never made a final decision), Crocus had Sabertooth, the east section of Waas Forest had Cait Shelter (Wendy's old school district), and so on.

Within each Guild, there are rooms. You can see the users in each room and decide to join. The Bar was popular in Fairy Tail for mass groups—it's the one they typically joined and took over, getting near about half their school in there.

No one she knew was on. Darn.

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _is now online!_

Scratch that. _He's_ on.

Don't get her wrong, she gets along with him fine enough, but he takes immense joy in riling her up. It's not like she couldn't take it, but just, after the day she's had…

She's not in the mood.

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _sent you a message!_

 **PoisonedYouth:** yo blondie

She raised a brow. He began… civilly? Suspicious. Very suspicious.

 **PoisonedYouth:** lounge is open in FT

 **CelestialMage:** not in the mood to deal with your insults today, kthnx

 **PoisonedYouth:** harsh

 **PoisonedYouth:** i'm feeling v attacked rite now

 **PoisonedYouth:** just tryin to be a good pal

 **PoisonedYouth:** and you just dive rite in w claws

She rolled her eyes.

 **CelestialMage:** Fine. I apologize. That was rude.

 **PosionedYouth:** you bet it was

 **PoisonedYouth** : sooo

Lucy watched the screen for a moment, seeing the little dots meaning he was typing. They disappeared and she waited for his next message. When another few seconds passed and the little dots reappeared, she tilted her head. Small, repetitive chimes alerted her that others were on. Strange, that they all logged on within seconds of each other. Oh well. Worked out for her.

 _ **IceMake**_ _is now online!_

 _ **FireDragonRoar**_ _is now online!_

 _ **AdminScarlet**_ _is now online!_

 _ **SkyDragon**_ _is now online!_

 _ **AtlasFlare**_ _is now online!_

 _ **AdminSoul**_ _is now online!_

Oh, and Flare and Mira were on too. Lucky.

 **CelestialMage:** The rest of the gang is on.

 **CelestialMage** : Talk to you later

 _ **CelestialMage**_ _has joined Fairy Tail: Main Bar!_

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _has joined Crime Sorciere: Lounge!_

* * *

As a rule, Lucy had learned to dislike Wednesdays. Wednesday meant group work in chemistry. She was decent at chemistry, but she always ended up sitting in on the nearest group—all of which seemed to hate her for no apparent reason and go out of their way to speak quietly regarding the lab and sneer loudly at her. Groups could be no bigger than five and she didn't really know anyone in her class. She knew their names and could hold conversations, but she wasn't on that level where they would invite her to work with them and she wasn't confident enough to attempt to invite herself. She supposed this is what magazines and novels meant when they talked about moving to a new school and suffering because of friendships and cliques already formed.

"Lucy?" Ms. Olietta was a very nice woman. Spoke in riddles sometimes, but nice. Her passion was not chemistry, but woodshop, so _why_ she taught chemistry was a bit curious, but she also doubled as the shop teacher and no one had actually gotten a straight answer out of her about it yet. "Well," the group Lucy seemed to always join stared back at the blonde blankly, eyes narrowed and lips pressed into a thin line.

The door banged open and, almost as one, the class turned to see who was five minutes late. The familiar tanned skin and spiked up maroon hair threw everyone for a moment. He stared back. Some glanced to the corner, where the teen was typically found with his friends, but lo and behold, he was not, in-fact there.

"Erik, this is odd. You're usually first in the room." The teen gazed blankly back at her, still standing in the doorway. She raised a brow, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"Got held up, is all." She didn't quite look convinced, but despite his appearance, he had one of the highest grades in her class and usually spent the time before class giving her "hypothetical" situations. She was curious how he came up with this situations, but figured it was better if she didn't know the results of his experiments and how he may or may not be getting ahold of highly poisonous materials.

"Do you have a note?" The boy's nose scrunched up in a scowl and she sighed. "Well. You're late." He stepped in, closing the door behind him while the class returned to their prior conversations. As he started towards the back table for his friends, a smile curled on Laki's face. "Just a moment, Erik." He stopped. She motioned with a hand towards the blonde staring back at her with wide eyes. "You'll be joining Lucy today."

His glare was enough to possibly convince her this was a bad idea, but she didn't want to watch the girl sit at the very end of a table and silently take notes again.

"Why?"

Laki's smile grew, eyes almost closing behind her glasses. "Try not to be late next time!" He muttered something under his breath she pointedly didn't try to make out.

"Ms. Olietta?" From the very back table, Sorano raised a hand, icy blue nails perfectly done. Laki looked over at her. The girl pointed down at their table. "She'd make four." The dual-haired teenager beside her snored.

Laki clapped her hands. "Good problem solving! Gold star, Miss Sorano!" The platinum blonde's lip raised in the beginnings of a scoff. "Go on, go on~!" Laki waved off Lucy, who was just about ready to start begging her normal group to _please, let me join you, I swear I won't make any noise_ , but the teen behind her snapped his fingers, clicking his tongue.

 _Ohohho, he did_ **not.**

She whirled around, giving him the murderous look she had perfected over the last four months here, developed after dealing with the dynamic duo known as Natsu and Gray.

To her everlasting joy, he seemed mildly impressed.

* * *

She was still seething two periods later, when lunch rolled around. Natsu made the mistake of bouncing in too close to her, chirping out something entirely too loud about his cat, and was on the receiving end of the very same look Erik had grinned at. Gray wisely stayed back, calmly sitting with Wendy on the opposite end of the table.

"Move, Blondie," and Lucy was unceremoniously shoved aside, someone settling down next to her.

" _You,"_ Lucy hissed. Sorano gazed back, pausing in the middle of opening her bag.

Across the table, Erza's sandwich was halfway to her mouth, stopped mid-air as the redhead stared at the new addition to their table. Next to her, Lisanna blinked as well and on Sorano's other side, Levy was staring at her.

"Me," Sorano conceded, opening her bag and pulling out a box. "Stop staring. It's unattractive," she hummed casually, popping open the lid and stabbing her fork into the salad.

"Why," Lucy took a breath, making her voice level, "Why are you sitting here? Sorano? And was it really necessary to _push_ me?"

"Oh, absolutely," she bit out around a forkful of lettuce. "The idiots are off doing something and I wasn't in the mood to chill in the library. So. Here we are." She raised her free hand, waving it briefly towards Gray. The raven eyed her warily. "Juvia says hello," He nearly choked, almost slipping off the bench. "Oh, hold that face, I'll send her a pic!"

"Don't you dare!" Sorano snickered, uncapping her water and taking a sip. Lucy leaned around her, looking at Levy. The short bluenette shrugged, then smiled.

"Sorano, you wanted to sit with Lucy?" Levy tried easily, looking up at her with big eyes. The lighter haired teen glanced down at her before swiveling to beam at Lucy.

"Why, _of-course!_ We're chem buddies~!"

Lucy didn't buy it. She absolutely did not buy it at-all. She wasn't sure what she wanted, but if she had to beg, she would be partnering with her former group next week.

"Is that so?" Erza hummed, taking a bite out of her sandwich. Sorano nodded. "Well, we are pleased to have you, Sorano. Now, Natsu, Gray, how did your test go?" The boys slipped down in their seats, avoiding eye contact. Erza's brow twitched. " _Boys_."

* * *

Lucy leaned against the wall, waiting for the familiar black car to pull up. She'd gotten a text from their driver that there was some construction going on so he'd be a few minutes late. She assured him it was fine, that she didn't mind. It meant she got to stand with her friends until they had to pile onto the bus, the familiar complaint of "Why can't we just drive to school?" echoing as the buses pulled away from the front of the school, leaving her alone with the few others who were able to drive or carpooled.

She only knew a few of them but not enough to join them while she waited for the car to appear.

"Blondie," She looked back towards the doors, furrowing her brows when Erik tilted his chin up in greeting. She shifted a little closer to the wall, watching as he made his way closer, Macbeth following after him, yawning widely. "Think we swapped notebooks."

"I… don't think so." She tightened her grip on her bag strap. He stopped when he was finally beside her, Macbeth leaning forward and leaning against his shoulder.

"Really?" he shrugged off his bag, flipping the top up and pulling out a dark purple notebook, 'Chemistry, Period 3, Olietta, Lucy Heartfilia' written neatly on the cover. "Because I beg to differ." She blinked. Once. Twice.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I don't know how that could have happened!" she hurriedly unzipped her bag, pulling up her leg to shuffle through more easily.

"You were in a pretty big rush," he drawled out lazily. Her cheeks burned. Sure, she'd been annoyed when the maroon haired boy kept teasing her throughout chem, and come to think of it, she was still pretty ticked he snapped his fingers like she was a dog, but she didn't think she'd been that obvious when she tried to get away from him as fast as she could at the end of class! Honestly, she thought she'd handled it pretty well too. "You have it?"

"Just—just a moment, sorry!" She pushed aside a folder and—ah, there it was. "H-here!" The notebook was black, nothing written on it, but clean nonetheless. She took hers, still out-stretched in his hand. "I-I'm really sorry about that! I didn't mean—"

"Miss Heartfilia?" She glanced distractedly over, the familiar black town car now pulled up to the curb, the window down and her driver leaning across the seat.

"J-just a minute, sorry!" She bit at her lip, looking up at Erik. He was smirking, obviously amused by her flailing. She took in a deep breath, then nodded. "I'll be more careful next time."

"No harm, no foul," Macbeth muttered sleepily from his friend's shoulder. Erik's amused expression immediately darkened when he saw the drool spotting his shirt.

"Midnight!" Lucy turned tail, pulling open the back door and diving in, the car pulling away steadily. She watched through tinted windows as Erik lunged for his now awake best friend, the dual-haired teen bolting for the parking lot.

"Midnight…?" Lucy recognized that name, but she wasn't sure if it was just a coincidence. Honestly, she hoped that's all it was. She can't imagine Macbeth was the type to join in on the shenanigans she's heard about from Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **PoisonedYouth** : so do anything stupid today?

 **CelestialMage** : Excuse you, where's my hello?

 **FireDragonRoar** : ur flitring sucks cobra

 **IceMake** : THATS flirting?

 **AdminSoul** : Now now let's all get along~

 **PoisonedYouth** : i was talking to u lizard boy

 **FireDragonRoar** : FIGHT ME

 **SkyDragon** : Natsu! Don't cause trouble!

 **PoisonedYouth** : listen to the kid brat

 **CelestialMage** : Kick his ass, Natsu.

 **AdminSoul** : Lucy! My, how violent!

 **FireDragonRoar** : ILL WIN 4 SURE!

 **PoisonedYouth** : your spelling sucks.

 **FireDragonRoar** : BITE ME COBRA

 **SkyDragon** : You guys! Erza will kick us out again!

 **AdminSoul** : Don't worry about it, Wendy~ I'll let you in!

 **CelestialMage** : That's not the point, Mira…

 **PoisonedYouth** : as fun as this is, i have better things to do with my time

 **CelestialMage** : Do you now?

 **PoisonedYouth** : im sensing some sass there blondie

 **SkyDragon** : Lucy, Cobra-san, don't fight again!

 **AdminSoul** : Shh, Wendy, I'm watching!

 **IceMake** : lucy help juvia keeps messaging me

 **CelestialMage** : You bet there's some sass.

 **CelestialMage** : Gray, you need to face your fear sometime.

 **IceMake** : NOT LIKE THIS IS DO

 **FireDragonRoar** : BWAHAHAHAHA

 **IceMake** : YOU SHUT UP YOU PYRO

 **FireDragonRoar** : WHAT WAS THAT POPSICLE?!

 **CelestialMage** : Guys, come on. Honestly.

 **IceMake** : YOU'VE OBVIOUSLY NEVER BEEN STALKED

 **FireDragonRoar** : LOOOSER

 **IceMake** : YOU DON'T HAVE JUVIA BREATHING DOWN YOUR NECK

 **SkyDragon** : Guys, please!

 **AdminSoul** : Boys, let's not get physical again~

 _ **FireDragonSoul**_ _has left the chat!_

 **AdminSoul** : Gray.

 _ **IceMake**_ _has left the chat!_

 **AdminSoul** : Well. There goes my pleasant evening. Excuse me.

 _ **AdminSoul**_ _has left the chat!_

 **SkyDragon** : Lucy, I have to go!

 _ **SkyDragon**_ _has left the chat!_

Lucy stared down at her computer screen, wondering what just happened.

 **PoisonedYouth** : ten bucks says they left to wrestle in the front yard and miras driving over to stop them

 **CelestialMage** : And Wendy?

 **PoisonedYouth** : riding her bike over. aint she and the idiot cousins?

 **CelestialMage** : I don't believe in gambling.

 **PoisonedYouth** : just means im rite

 **CelestialMage** : It's not exactly hard to figure out, Cobra. They do this every few days.

 **PoisonedYouth** : alrite smartass

 **PoisonedYouth** : so princess you finish all ur hw already? or u wasting ur time here?

 **CelestialMage** : Well, I am talking to you…

 **PoisonedYouth** : harsh

 **PoisonedYouth** : i love it

* * *

Thursday dawned bright and early and sitting in her first period English, Lucy hunched a little lower in her seat.

" _Look at her makeup."_

" _Little dark, dontcha think?"_

" _Who's she tryin' to impress, huh?"_

She pressed her lips in a thin line, curling her fingers to dig into her palm, resisting the urge to rub at her eyes. She didn't know why it seemed like everyone was after her. She was new, yeah, blonde, okay, but those weren't exactly things she could help. She'd honestly _never_ heard of girls picking on a new student just for that reason—outside of novels to move along the plot, of-course.

" _Heard she went to a prissy Academy. Must be hard for her—what with all these guys suddenly thrown in-front of her."_

Oh. Well. That was not what she expected.

" _She's always with Natsu and Gray, think she's with them?"_ There were faint snickers and she slouched a little lower, biting hard on the inside of her cheek.

They thought she was…?

She rubbed underneath her eye, pressing hard to stop the tears before they came. That was the last thing she needed.

* * *

She was not prepared, third period, for a thump and then a body folding over on the table. She stifled her shriek, staring down at Macbeth already asleep beside her.

"Mac-Macbeth?" a soft grunt was her only answer. Another form slipped on her other side and she turned to stare at Sorano, who pulled out a nail file after dropping her bag on her desk. "S-sorano?" She glanced up, pausing for a second in chewing her gum, then looked back down at her nails.

"If he's already out, there's no waking him," the light-haired teen hummed out, scowling down at her ring-finger. "Does this look even?" Lucy got a handful of ice blue nails, leaning back to gauge it properly.

"Mm, give it over," Sorano gave up her file easily and Lucy took her hand, tilting her head back and forth after every swipe. "Better. You pressed too hard on the left." Lucy handed the file back and Sorano moved onto her middle finger. "Um… Why—did he sit here?"

"Probably too lazy to go all the way back," Lucy raised a brow as Erik settled on Macbeth's other side, looking over at her curiously. "You ready for that quiz?"

Lucy froze.

* * *

"I hate you!" she smacked his arm on the way out, scowling at him while he laughed at her expression. Macbeth trailed behind them, sleepily rubbing at his eyes with one hand and tugging on Sorano's sweater with the other.

"Neee… Angel…" She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "What's going on?" Sorano flicked her eyes back towards the two in-front of them, Lucy smacking his arm every few feet, a frown still on her face, while their friend continued to grin and tease her, obviously enjoying how freaked out she had been.

"Cobra's flirting. Again."

Macbeth hummed, yawning widely.

* * *

 **PoisonedYouth** : oi whats wrong?

 **CelestialMage** : what makes you think anything is wrong?

 **PoisonedYouth** : ur being mopey. stop it

 **PoisonedYouth** : hey

 **PoisonedYouth** : you still here?

Lucy sucked down another breath, staring up at her ceiling. There were a few more pings before her laptop fell silent.

He'd been the only one on. Natsu and Gray were over at Mira's, doing some yardwork in apology for the problem they caused yesterday. Erza was supervising. And when they were finished at the Strauss home, they'd be moving onto Wendy's, for scaring the younger girl and getting Grandine involved. Flare lost internet for the week due to some power issue on her street. Yukino had club activities until later.

But she was just… lonely. And now even Cobra had left her.

A watery breath in and she looked back down at her screen.

 **PoisonedYouth** : so help me ill tell scarlet

 **PoisonedYouth** : im waiting

 **PoisonedYouth** : anytime youre ready blondie

So he hadn't left.

 **CelestialMage:** its nothing

 **PoisonedYouth** : your spelling says otherwise

She smiled lightly, shuffling further against her pillows, bringing her laptop with her.

 **PoisonedYouth** : im guessing school

 **PoisonedYouth** : so what happened

 **CelestialMage** : So caring, Cobra!

 **PoisonedYouth** : blondie

 **CelestialMage** : It's honestly nothing. I'm fine.

 **PoisonedYouth** : fine i don't believe you, but fine

 **CelestialMage** : Are you always this suspicious?

 **PoisonedYouth** : when people are lying to me sure

Lucy stared at her screen. A moment passed and her eyes watered, bottom lip wobbling until she bit at it. Another moment and a watery whine grew in her throat, dropping her laptop onto her comforter and pulling her knees to her chest, sucking down breaths.

 **PoisonedYouth** : hey you there?

 **CelestialMage** : yes

 **PoisonedYouth** : are you okay?

 **CelestialMage** : no

 **PoisonedYouth** : do you wanna talk?

 **CelestialMage** : no

 **PoisonedYouth** : alright

She pressed her forehead into her knees, refusing to make a sound despite that fact that no one could hear her. No one would care. Except for a boy whose name she didn't even know.

The chirp from her phone brought her head up, sight swimming still with tears as she reached for it—where she had tossed it at the bottom of her bed.

 **Angel** (received now): so blondie i wanna come over

 **Angel** (received now): give me your address

She swiped at the screen, bringing up her messages. And there, just like on her lock screen, was a new message from 'Angel.'

 **New Message** (4:48) **:** is this Sorano?

 **Angel** (4:48): yea give me your address

 **Angel** (4:49): youre explaining chem to me. and lit while were at it

Ah. She'd forgotten they had English together. They were opposite sides of the room, Lucy to the left and in the middle, Sorano on the right near the front—close to the door.

 **New Message** (4:50): Tonight's not really a good time. Some other time? Can't you ask Erik?

She didn't want to see anyone. She didn't want to have to pretend.

 **Angel** (4:50)l: blondie im trying to have a girls nite w/ u

 **Angel** (4:50): and youre making it very difficult for me to accomplish that

 **Angel** (4:51): so give your parents the hw excuse and let me come watch movies with u

 **Angel** (4:51): or so help me ill get erza involved and tell her youre sad

 **New Message** (4:52): Why do you care?

 **Angel** (4:52): im calling erza and mira. i warned you

* * *

Lucy didn't know how she explained the five girls on her doorstep to their Head of Staff, but Capricorn had shown them to the living room, insisted he was pleased she had such lovely friends, then informed them dinner would be ready shortly and the TV remote was on the table.

True to her word, Sorano had called Erza and Mira, who brought along Levy and Wendy—along with overnight bags, make-up bags, sleeping bags, and a tote full of movies.

Lucy hadn't had so much fun in a very long time.

* * *

" _Tch, can you_ _ **believe**_ _her?_ " a voice whispered. Lucy's eyes widened and she dropped her head slightly, rubbing carefully under her eyes so as not to disrupt Levy's handiwork. " _Seriously, what's she trying to do?"_

" _She's trying too hard."_

" _Waaaay too hard. That's obvious."_ Stifled snickers and Lucy let her posture drop, biting at her lip. A thud jerked her eyes up and she stared at Sorano seated in-front of her, blowing a bubble casually.

The white-haired girl appraised her for a quiet moment, the whispers only whispers behind them. "Eh. She did okay. Coulda done your eyes better." Sorano motioned with long nails to her own eyes, where her wings were sharp and precise. "But decent job. Maybe not your style, but it's okay."

"She tried her best," Lucy defended Levy's work, lips pressed tight together.

"She did, she did. Better than Wendy's attempt at-least." Sorano's smile was crooked and Lucy scowled.

"Wendy's never applied eyeliner in her life."

Sorano's grin grew, a brow raised. "So aren't you glad she did Erza instead?"

"She just needs practice, is all!" Lucy huffed, crossing her arms. "What're you doing over here anyway?"

"I told you you needed to explain lit and you, Blondie, did not. So, guess what?" Sorano whipped out a packet, dropping it on the desk. "Five minutes. Speak fast."

Lucy stared hard before a nail tapped at the papers and she leaped into teaching mode, flipping through pages while the girl in-front of her listened intently, pencil scratching across the paper.

* * *

 **PoisonedYouth:** you feelin better blondie?

 **CelestialMage:** Yeah, I am.

 **PoisonedYouth:** good hate it when youre sulking

 **CelestialMage:** Ah, and here I thought it was just you being decent, my mistake~ :)

 **PoisonedYouth:** madam i am wounded

 **PoisonedYouth:** betrayed

 **PoisonedYouth:** i dont think i can recover

 **_MadnessHour_:** ur flirting sucks

 **PoisonedYouth:** midnight wtf

 **CelestialMage:** Ah, this is early for you, huh?

 **PoisonedYouth:** ignore him

 **_MadnessHour_:** eh

 **_MadnessHour_:** had a nap

 **CelestialMage:** Well, this is rare! And how've you been?

 **PoisonedYouth:** blondie stop youre encouraging him

 **CelestialMage:** Quiet, Cobra. This is a polite conversation.

 **_MadnessHour_:** fiiine u?

 **_MadnessHour_:** lol

 **PoisonedYouth:** never do that again midnight or i swear to god

 **CelestialMage:** Ahh, friendship. So pure~

 **_MadnessHour_:** like u n angel

 **PoisonedYouth:** midnight stfu

 **CelestialMage:** Angel? Sorano?

 **_MadnessHour_:** ya

 **_MadnessHour_:** btw cobras being mean whats #6

 **CelestialMage:** #6?

 **PoisonedYouth:** midnight stp

 **_MadnessHour-:** on chem ws

 **CelestialMage:** …Macbeth?

 **_MadnessHour_:** ya?

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _has left the chat!_

 **CelestialMage:** wait

 **CelestialMage:** _Macbeth?_

 _ **_MadnessHour_**_ _has left the chat!_

 _ **CelestialMage**_ _has joined Crime Sorciere: Lounge!_

 **Meteoria:** Lucy, what a surprise!

 **CelestialMage:** Cobra.

 **Meteoria:** What did you do now?

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _has left the chat!_

 _ **_MadnessHour_**_ _has left the chat!_

 **CelestialMage:** Jellal. I want his number.

 **Meteroia:** I can't just give you his number

 **CelestialMage:** i deserve an honest anser for fucking once gve me his number

 **Meteoria: xxx-xxx-xxx**

 **CelestialMage:** :D

 _ **CelestialMage**_ _has left the chat!_

 **PowerOfLove:** Do I sense a budding romance~?

 **need_for_speed:** what you just saw was the beginning of a killing spree

 **need_for_speed:** rip cobra and midnight

 **Unknown** (received now): Erik, why're you ignoring me? Did you honestly not want me to know? Was this supposed to be some secret or something? You guys of Crime Sorceiere, we thought you all were across the country, but you're here? And Macbeth and Sorano?

 **Unknown** (received now): So why didn't you say anything? To me?

 **Unknown** (received now): I'm angry, okay? You're ignoring me, you're off FT, and I'm hurt. Was this some sort of joke to you? Be mysterious from behind a screen, watch what happened during school? You _knew_ , so why did you care? Why did you always ask?

 **Unknown** (received now): were you pretending all this time to care erik

 **Unknown** (received now): im sorry for bothering you ill stop texting you

 **New Message** (3:44) **:** im sorry

 **Lucy** (3:44) **:** ah well

 **New Message** (3:44) **:** im sorry you found out this way that wasnt what i wanted, ok?

 **New Message** (3:45) **:** but it wouldve been weird ok? 6 months later and just out of the blue 'hey im that guy on ft, usually around crime sorciere, so howre you?'

 **New Message** (3:45) **:** you know?

 **Lucy (4:45):** i wouldnt have thought it was weird

 **New Message** (3:46): ya well it wouldve been weird for me ok

 **Lucy** (3:46): I sorry I made you feel that way.

 **New Message** (3:46): dont pull that grammar bullshit now blondie

 **New Message** (3:46): i know youre pissed okay? no need to make it worse

 **Lucy** (3:47): Oh, am I making you uncomfortable? Apologies.

 **New Message** (3:47): lucy

 **Lucy** (3:48): No no, really. My mistake. Making you uncomfortable is much worse than being lied to for months and thinking that someone you called a friend actually cared. So really.

 **Lucy** (3:48): My mistake.

[Error: Message could not send.]

[Error: Message could not send.]

[Error: Message could not send.]

[ **Sorry, the number you are trying to call is not available. Please leave a message after the tone.]**

 _[Hi! It's Lucy! I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you soon! Thanks!]_

 _["I do care, you stupid blonde. You know how weird it is? Making the connection between someone online with someone you thought was across the country? I wasn't even sure if it was you, okay? Not until the pyro got involved. And then it would've been weird to just walk up to you and go 'hey, I'm Cobra, we talk online.' And half the time I was pretty sure you hated me, so I didn't think you'd appreciate it. Online life invading real life or whatever. Look, I'm sorry, okay? Sorry I didn't tell you, sorry I ditched. Okay? But don't pull any of this self-deprecating bullshit that you're not—]_

 **[Your message has been saved.]**

[ **Sorry, the number you are trying to call is not available. Please leave a message after the tone.]**

 _[Hi! It's Lucy! I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you soon! Thanks!]_

 _["Fucking voice mail. Fine. Just… Look. I'm sorry I didn't do anything. I figured you could handle it and when you looked rough, I got Angel involved. I thought that'd get them to stop. If they're still bothering you, tell her. She'll make it stop. Don't really get why you care what they think, you're prettier than—FUCK, shit, no, ignore that! Damn it!"]_

 **Lucy** (4:47): I would've liked a friend.

 **New Message** (4:56): *would like

 **Lucy** (5:02): I guess you're not wrong.

 **Lucy** (5:04): But it kinda sounded like you maybe

 **Lucy** (5:04): wanted a girlfriend?

 **Lucy** (5:04): because you sounded really nervous and you called me pretty unless you didn't mean

 **[Erik Calling]**

 **[Call accepted]**

 **[Call Duration: 42:38]**

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _has joined Crime Sorciere: Lounge!_

 **Meteoria:** You're still alive I see. Shall we be preparing for your funeral?

 **PoisonedYouth:** racer owes me money

 **need_for_speed:** the fuck i do?

 **PoisonedYouth:** guess who got a girlfriend before our fearless leader accepted his feelings?

 **PowerOfLove:** °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

 **need_for_speed: fuck u jellal**

 _ **CelestialMage**_ _has joined Crime Sorciere: Lounge!_

 **Meteoria:** Lucy?

 **PoisonedYouth:** darling

 **Meteoria** : ?

 **CelestialMage:** Honey~

 **Meteoria:**?

 **PowerOfLove:** o(≧∇≦o)

 **PowerOfLove:** ＾▽＾

 **CelestialMage:** Hi Richard!

 **PowerOfLove:** Congratulations!

 **need_for_speed:** _ **fuck u jellal**_

 **Meteoria:** what

 **CelestialMage:** Thanks for his number, Jellal!

 **Meteoria** : _**what**_

 **CelestialMage:** I'll be sure to mention it to Erza. I just know how much it means to her when friends help each other out. I'm sure she'll appreciate your role in this. Thanks again! See you tomorrow, Erik!

 _ **CelestialMage**_ _has left the chat!_

 _ **CelestialMage**_ _has joined Fairy Tail: Main Bar!_

 **Meteoria:** what

 **Meteoria** : cobra

 **Meteoria** : explain

 **PoisonedYouth:** get rekt

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _has left the chat!_

 _ **PoisonedYouth**_ _has joined Fairy Tail: Main Bar!_

 **Meteoria:** what just happened

 **need_for_speed:** cuz ur a pansy cobra won the fucking bet

 **need_for_speed:** ur alwys waxing poetry about the redhead i thought youd man up and go do smthin but _noooo_ cobra went and got over his fucking pining before u did u utter disgrace


End file.
